charity navigator 2014 charity ceo compensation study
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October 2014
CHARITY NAVIGATOR 2014 Charity CEO Compensation Study
This report represents Charity Navigator’s ninth CEO Compensation Study. This year’s study
examined the compensation practices at 3,9461 mid to large sized U.S. based charities that de-
pend on support from the public. Our analysis revealed that the top leaders of these charities
earned a median salary in the low to mid six figures2 in 2012 representing a compensation in-
crease of just 2.6% over the previous year3.
We know that many donors continue to be concerned by what they believe to be excessive char-
ity CEO pay. Many donors assume that charity leaders work for free or minimal pay and are
shocked to see that they earn six figure compensation packages. But well-meaning donors
sometimes fail to consider that these CEOs are typically running multi-million dollar operations
that endeavor to help change the world. Leading one of these charities requires an individual
that possesses an understanding of the issues that are unique to the charity’s mission as well as a
high level of fundraising and management expertise. Attracting and retaining that type of talent
requires a competitive level of compensation as dictated by the marketplace. While there are
nonprofit salaries that most of us would agree are out-of-line, it is important for donors to un-
derstand that a six-figure compensation package is not necessarily a sign of excessive earnings
for CEOs of charities of $1 million in revenue.
This report offers insight into how a charity’s mission, size, and location impact its CEO’s com-
pensation. It also highlights some questionable payouts, such as those that approach and exceed
a million dollars, and suspect compensation policies, such as charities that have multiple highly-
paid family members on staff. We round out the report by offering advice for judging the appro-
priateness of a nonprofit executive’s compensation.
1Data from the 2014 study is based on the 2012 salary data provide on their FYE 2012 and FYE 2013 Forms 990 by 3,946
charities in Charity Navigator's database of nearly 8,000 charities. For more information on what types of organizations Char-
ity Navigator evaluates, please click here. Also, read the appendix to learn which charities were excluded from the study.
2Based on the data found in each charity's most recently filed Form 990, we include salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts
when we measure a CEO's compensation. We do not include contributions to benefit plans or deferred compensation that is
allocated to be paid in later years. Deferred compensation is often accrued over many years and then is paid as a lump sum in
one year. As such, we do include deferred compensation as part of the compensation figure in the year in which it is actually
paid out to the employee and/or when it is expensed per the 990.
3Based on comparison salary data for the 2,582 charities that report the same person as CEO for both all of 2012 and 2011. As
such, charities were excluded in year-over-year salary comparisons if the CEO changed and/ or if the CEO was only employed
for part of 2011.
In earlier versions of this study, we reported on the mean value of CEO compensation (simple
average). Since our 2010 study, we’ve been reporting on the median value (the middle value of
a set of numbers) of CEO compensation. We prefer to use the median (meaning half the salaries
in the dataset are greater and half are lower) as it is less sensitive to extreme compensation
packages than the mean and is a more representative figure of the center of a series of salaries.
To paint a more accurate picture of the compensation landscape among mid to large public
charities, we eliminated a number of charities from our sample (see the Appendix for more in-
formation on exclusions). Instead of looking at all of the nearly 8,000 charities in our database,
we’ve restricted our analysis to 3,946 charities (and 2,582 when looking at year-over-year com-
parisons) which is still the largest sample of its kind that is available at no cost. Therefore, the
sample has ample data to draw some significant conclusions.
Changes made to the methodology starting with the 2010 study make it impossible to draw
comparisons to iterations of this report prior to 2010.
Just like the for-profit sector, salaries at nonprofits differ based on the part of the country in
which the entity is located. Here’s how the median pay for the various regions4 compare to the
overall median compensation ($120,396) for 2012:
Higher CEO Compensation: Northeast ($148,250), Mid-Atlantic ($141,907) and
Pacific West ($125,000)
Lower CEO Compensation: Mountain West ($101,589), Midwest ($108,687), South
($109,508) and Southwest ($113,888).
In comparison to 2011 compensation data (only for those 2,582 charities that had the same CEO
in place for the full two years), each region experienced an increase in median compensation.
The Southwest (3.2%) reported the greatest increase in median compensation and the Mountain
West (2.0%) and the South (2.0%) reported the smallest increase.
Region
2012
Median Compensation
2012
Maximum Compensation
# of Charities/
Region
# of Charities
included in year-
over-year com-
parison
Median
Raise
Mid-Atlantic $141,907 $1,162,696 573 390 2.9%
Midwest $108,687
$3,394,434
729 468 2.7%
Mountain West $101,589
$729,337.
215 137 2.0%
Northeast $148,250 $3,733,930 681 457 2.9%
Pacific West $125,000 $1,088,883 593 391 2.6%
South $109,508 $1,220,305 814 513 2.0%
Southwest $113,898 $841,397 341 226 3.2%
Grand Total $120,396 $3,733,930 3,946 2,582 2.6%
4The Appendix at the end of this study includes a description of the states included in each region.
To assist Board compensation committees and others who use this study as part of their bench-
marking analysis, we drill down further in the data to examine the variation that occurs not just
by location, but also by size.5
Highest CEO Compensation is in the Mid-Atlantic for small ($113,026), Northeast for
medium ($172,274) and Northeast for large ($307,756) charities
Lowest CEO Compensation is in the Midwest for small ($87,048), Mountain West for
medium ($119,104) and large ($174,209) charities
5Size is defined by total expenses such that small are charities with total expenses between $1 million and $3.5 million, medium
charities are those with total expenses between $3.5 and $13.5 million and large charities have total expenses >$13.5 million.
Size
Large Medium Small
Region Median
Compensation
# of
Charities Median
Compensation
# of
Charities Median
Compensation
# of
Charities
Mid-Atlantic $291,773 82 $170,244 197 $113,026 294
Midwest $241,645 112 $131,100 237 $87,048 380
Mountain West $174,209 29 $119,104 57 $87,120 129
Northeast $307,756 119 $172,274 244 $106,037 318
Pacific West $234,955 83 $152,072 199 $97,500 311
South $226,615 127 $130,488 246 $95,296 411
Southwest $264,547 44 $135,506 119 $90,724 178
The max compensation reported by size/ region is as follows:
Max CEO Compensation for Large Charities is in the Northeast ($3,733,930)
Max CEO Compensation for Medium Charities is in the Pacific West ($840,000)
Max CEO Compensation for Small Charities is in the Southwest ($435,000)
The compensation a CEO receives depends, in part, on the types of programs and services of-
fered by the charity. And the difference in compensation across categories can be significant.
For example, the median CEO compensation at an educational institution is nearly $74,000
more than that paid to the typical leader of a religious charity. Here’s how the median compen-
sation for the various categories compare to the overall median compensation ($120,396):
Higher CEO Compensation: Education ($158,847), Arts, Culture and Humanities
($150,000), Health ($135,000) and Public Benefit ($133,011)
Lower CEO Compensation: Religion ($85,387), Animals ($105,865), Human Services
($110,100), International ($120,000) and Environment ($120,101)
In comparison to 2011 salaries, all but one of the categories experienced an increase in median
compensation. Median compensation increased the most among Animal (3.5%) charities and
the least among International (1.7%) charities. For the third year in a row, median compensation
was essentially flat among Religious charities.
Category
2012
Median
Compensation
2012
Maximum
Compensation
# of Charities/
Category
# of Charities
included in
year-over-year
comparison
Median
Raise
Animals $105,865 $3,394,434 257 168 3.5%
Arts, Culture,
Humanities $150,000 $840,000 351 213 3.3%
Education $158,847 $1,150,927 244 166 2.7%
Environment $120,101 $616,146 229 151 2.8%
Health $135,000 $2,731,016 422 270 2.5%
Human Services $110,100 $3,206,088 1,069 711 2.8%
International $120,000 $942,089 372 249 1.7%
Public Benefit $133,011 $3,733,930 748 2.6% 471
Religion $85,387 $533,819 254 183 0.4%
Not surprisingly, there is a predictable relationship between the size of a charity and the CEO's
compensation - the larger the charity the higher the median compensation. Here’s how the median
compensation for the various sizes of charities compare to the overall median compensation
($120,396):
Higher CEO Compensation: Large organizations with total expenses greater than $13.5 million
($256,143) and medium sized charities with total expenses between $3.5 and $13.5 million ($148,659)
Lower CEO Compensation: Small charities with total expenses between $1 million and $3.5 million
($97,158)
These figures demonstrate that as the size and to
some degree the complexities of running a non-
profit increases, so does the salary of the institu-
tion’s top executive. So much so that if we
probe deeper into the top tier of charities (by
size), we see even larger salaries. Charities with
total expenses of $13.5 million and greater, pay
their CEOs upwards of a quarter million dollars.
In illuminating this information, it is not our
intention to give donors a reason to not support
a great charity. Rather, we want donors to un-
derstand and appreciate that the top nonprofit
leaders, those who are sought after for their
ability to manage multi-million to multi-billion
dollar institutions, and who are tasked with the
mammoth goal of helping to make the world a
better place, command significant salaries. On
the other hand, in our opinion, it is evident that
seven-figure salaries do not seem warranted,
even in the largest sized charities.
Size
2012
Median
Compensation
# of
Charities
$13.5 - $25 Million $221,777 238
$25 - $50 Million $263,094 195
$50 - $100 Million $297,917 91
$100 - $200 Million $410,652 40
Over $200 Million $526,679 32
Size
2012
Median
Compensation
2012
Maximum
Compensation
# of Charities/
Size
Median
Raise
# of Charities included
in year-over-year
comparison
Large $256,143 $3,733,930 596 3.9% 443
Medium $148,659 $840,000 1,299 2.9% 899
Small $97,158 $435,000 2,051 2.0% 1,240
Some CEO compensation packages raise more eyebrows than others. The following list reveals
which charity within each category provides its CEO the highest compensation package for the
year 2012. We have filtered out cases of retirement benefit payouts from this list. Such payouts
typically are rewards for many years of work, and consequently are not really comparable to the
other CEOs' compensation.
Category
Median
Compensation/
Category
Highest
Compensation
(exclusive of one-
time payments)
Charity
Charity’s
Total
Expenses
Supplemental Information
Provided By Charity
on Form 9906
Animals $105,865 $815,402 Shedd
Aquarium $53,510,492
$475,042 Base compensation;
$317,500 Bonus & incentive;
$22,500 Other
Arts,
Culture,
Humanities
$150,000 $748,740
Solomon R.
Guggenheim
Foundation
$74,249,962
Education $158,847 $1,599,911
Icahn School of
Medicine at
Mount Sinai
$1,497,892,572
$735,500Base compensation;
$750,000 Bonus & incentive;
$114,411Other An additional $1,599,911 in com-
pensation was provided by a relat-
ed organization, bringing his total
reportable compensation to
$3,199,822.
Environment $120,101 $616,146 The Nature
Conservancy $752,216,964
$520,249 Base compensation;
$80,000 Bonus & Incentive;
$15,898 Other
Health $135,000 $999,428
Cystic
Fibrosis
Foundation
$176,170,472
$547,489 Base compensation;
$107,531 Bonus & incentive;
$344,408 Other
(chart continues on next page )
Category
Median
Compensation/
Category
Highest
Compensation
(exclusive of one-
time payments)
Charity
Charity’s
Total
Expenses
Supplemental Information
Provided By Charity
on Form 9906
Human
Services $110,100 $751,184
Motion
Picture and
Television
Fund
$100,526,884
$493,920 Base compensation;
$250,000 Bonus & incentive;
$7,264 Other
International $120,000 $942,089
Council on
Foreign
Relations
$61,627,218
$375,000Base compensation;
$235,000 Bonus & incentive;
$332,089Other
Public
Benefit $133,011 $1,220,305
United Way
Worldwide $93,874,399
$520,043 Base compensation;
$180,657 Bonus & incentive;
$519,605 Other
Religion $85,387 $533,819
Educational
Media
Foundation
$81,732,687
$403,413 Base compensation
$122,652 Bonus & incentive;
$27,754 Other
Footnote
6 Other compensation refers to compensation that the CEO must report to the IRS as taxable income in the current year, other
than base salary and bonuses. Examples are perquisites such as housing allowances and club memberships.
Of the 3,929 charities included in the study, only 12 rewarded their top executive with $1 mil-
lion or more in compensation (when including one-time payouts). In comparison, last year’s
study (which examined 2011 data) there were just 9.
All 12 are large charities (total expenses >$13.5 million)
They are located in the Pacific West (1), South (2), Northeast (3), Mid-Atlantic (3), and
Midwest (3).
This list is comprised of 1 Animal charity (Shedd Aquarium), 1 Human Service charity
(Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin), 1 Health charity (Alzheimer’s Associa-
tion), 4 Education charities (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Hackley School,
UNCF, Episcopal High School), and 5 Public Benefit charities (The Heritage Foundation,
Anti-Defamation League, United Way Worldwide, Prostate Cancer Foundation, American
Association for the Advancement of Science).
The study also revealed that 67 charities paid their CEOs between $500,000 and $1 million. In
our review of 2011 compensation packages there were 78.
63 of theses are large charities (total expenses >$13.5 million), 3 of are medium sized chari-
ties (total expenses between $3.5 and $13.5 million) and 1 is a small charity (total expenses
between $1 million and $3.5 million).
They are located in the Mountain West (2), Pacific West (3), Southwest (5), Midwest (8),
Mid-Atlantic (9), South (13) and Northeast (27)
This group is diverse in its are of focus as it consists of 2 Religious charities, 3 Animal
charities, 7 International charities, 8 Education charities, 9 Health charities, 10 Human Ser-
vice charities, 12 Arts, Culture, Humanities charities and 16 Public Benefit.
When relevant, our charity reports also include information on salaries paid to top executives
and Board Directors, not just the CEO. For example, there are a number of charities that have
members of the same family on the payroll. In fact, there are 43 organizations that compensate
at least one of the CEO’s relatives, with that relative earning over $100,000.
CEO compensation shouldn’t be set in a vacuum of information. Rather, nonprofit Boards
should have a documented policy for establishing the CEO’s compensation. That objective pro-
cess should include a review of the CEO’s performance and benchmarking against comparable
organizations. At Charity Navigator, we track whether or not a charity has such a process. Our
finding show that among the charities in this study, less than 5% (191) do not have a process
for setting CEO compensation. This is an improvement over last year when 6% (244) of the
charities reported not having a compensation policy.
Of those 191 charities in this year’s study without a process:
CEO pay increased at more than half of the charities (112) without such policies
CEO pay increased by more than 2.6% (median compensation increase for all chari-
ties in this study) for 89 of these charities
CEO pay increased by more than 10% for 38 of these charities
Making loans to related parties such as key officers, staff, or Board members, is not standard
practice in the sector as it diverts the charity's funds away from its charitable mission and can
lead to real and perceived conflict-of-interest problems. This practice is discouraged by sector
trade groups which point to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act when they call for charities to refrain from
making loans to directors and executives. The IRS is concerned enough with the practice that it
requires charities to disclose on their Form 990 any loans to or from current and former officers,
directors, trustees, key employees, and other "disqualified persons." Some state laws go so far
as to prohibit loans to board members and officers.
In our entire database of charities, nearly 5% (375) charities report loans to their officers.7
7Our analysis does not distinguish between loans to CEOs versus other key officers, staff and Board members so this figure
doesn’t specifically indicate only loans to CEOs.
The following graph show the trends in charity CEO compensation for the years 2008
(corresponds to the 2010 CEO Compensation Study), 2010 (corresponds to the 2012 Study),
2011 (corresponds to the 2013 Study) and 2012 (from this Study). This graph specifically
shows the percent change in compensation for the same CEO from one year to the next. The
graphs is consistent with what we’ve heard from compensation experts in the field. That is,
charity CEO salaries are beginning to increase since the recession, but only moderately so and
they haven’t returned to pre-recession levels.
0.0%
0.5%
1.0%
1.5%
2.0%
2.5%
3.0%
3.5%
4.0%
4.5%
5.0%
2008 2010 2011 2012
Year
Median Change in CEO Compensation Over Prior Year
2008 2010 2011 2012
Median Change in
CEO Compensation
over Prior Year
4.7% 1.5% 2.5% 2.6%
While it is true that the paychecks of some nonprofit executives are outrageously high, this
study confirms that those receiving excessive pay are in the minority. The data also shows that
top pay at charities can vary greatly by location - with CEOs in the Northeast earning roughly
$47,000 more than their peers in the Mountain West - by mission - with the heads of Educa-
tion charities earning about $74,000 more than those running Religion charities - and by size -
with CEOs managing large charities earning nearly $160,000 more than those at small charities.
Finally, the study shows that with a 2.6% median increase in pay from 2011 to 2012, charities
are still being conservative with compensation increases.
We recognize that many donors will be hesitant to agree that the CEO of their favorite charity
deserves a six figure salary. To the skeptics, we ask that you keep in mind that most of the char-
ities included in this study are multi-million dollar operations. Leading one of them requires an
individual that possesses both an understanding of the issues that are unique to the charity's
mission as well as extensive management and fundraising expertise. Even so, charities tend to
pay less than private sector firms for similar competencies. For example, the charities in our
study pay a median total compensation of roughly $120,000, compared to median salaries at
S&P 500 companies of $9.7 million in 2012 (which represents a 8% increase over the prior
year).8
8USA TODAY’s analysis of data from GMI for 2012 is accessible online.
We offer the following tips to help you assess the compensation of a charity's top leader.
1. Obtain comparison data. Use the information provided in this study to compare a CEO's salary to other similarly
sized charities, as well as those in the same category and region.
i. Our 2014 Metro Market Study provides median CEO salaries for 30 large cities.
ii. Charity Navigator registered users can compare the CEO salaries of specific chari-
ties on their "My Charities" page and on each charity's rating page by clicking on the
"Compare These Charities" link.
iii. Registered users can also access Charity Navigator's Sector Analysis Tool to calcu-
late the average CEO pay by cause and state.
2. Find out if the charity has a Compensation Committee.
Drawing on its experience in investigating charities, the IRS has redesigned the Form 990
(the informational tax return that charities must file annually and the document that Charity
Navigator utilizes to obtain a majority of the necessary data to rate each charity) to provide
more transparency regarding executive compensation practices. At Charity Navigator we
agree with the IRS that it is important for each charity to conduct an independent review of
its CEO’s compensation using comparative data. As such, we have included this as part of
our Accountability & Transparency Methodology (launched in September 2011) so you can
determine if a charity follows this best practice. If the charity you are considering has not
yet been rated by us, then we encourage you to review its Form 990 or contact it directly to
inquire if it has a compensation committee in place and how it makes salary decisions.
3. Be cautious if the charity has given the CEO a loan.
If one of a charity's top leaders received a loan, then you may want to think twice about sup-
porting it. While in some rare cases it may be necessary to provide a temporary housing
loan for a CEO to move to an expensive housing area, we maintain that a charity isn't in
business to provide low or no-interest loans to its CEO or other senior staff. If the CEO's
compensation is reasonable, then why does he/she require a discount loan to work for that
charity? We track this information as part of our Accountability & Transparency rating
analysis. However, if the charity you are considering isn’t rated by us, then check its Form
990 to see if the CEO or other leadership received a loan.
(tips continue on next page )
4. Consider the performance of the charity in relation to the CEO's pay.
If you come across a charity whose CEO pay is higher than other similar charities, don't im-
mediately dismiss that charity's request for funding. You're better off supporting a charity
that is fiscally efficient, accountable and transparent, achieving its programmatic goals and
paying its CEO well, than a charity that has substandard fiscal health, fails to live up to its
mission, but under-pays its CEO. Charity Navigator’s ratings can be of help in your re-
search into the charity’s Financial Health and commitment to being Accountable & Trans-
parent. If possible, also conduct your own review of the charity’s performance to determine
if it is delivering on its intended results.
5. Be skeptical of charities that report zero CEO compensation.
There are very few individuals that can afford to work full-time managing complex, multi-
million dollar organizations without receiving any compensation. If a charity you are con-
sidering reports no compensation for its CEO, then we recommend you contact it directly-
using the information we provide- to learn how it has been able to attract and retain a com-
petent leader without paying that individual. It might have a legitimate answer. However, it
may be that the charity failed to appropriately report the CEO's salary to the IRS or respond
to our analysts' requests for that data.
We are not alone in recommending that charity Boards include an independent compensation
committee which is responsible for reviewing the CEO’s performance and ensuring that the
CEO’s compensation is appropriate. We offer this report and the other tools available on our
free website as a starting point in that committee’s endeavors to set a reasonable level of pay.
But this study should not be a substitute for hiring an outside expert to conduct a compensation
study (especially for charities over $1 million in annual revenue).
Charity records that were excluded from this study include:
Fiscal Year Ends—This study examines 2012 CEO compensation for charities in Charity
Navigator’s database that have Forms 990 for the fiscal years ending 2012 and 2013. Other
fiscal years were excluded.
No CEO Reported– The organization either did not report any leadership information on
its Form 990 or it only reported the board of directors (no compensated staff).
No Compensation Reported – Although there are a few actual volunteer CEOs that receive
no pay, the current process by which we collect data precludes us from identifying which
charities have nonpaid CEOs versus those that simply failed to report compensation on their
Form 990. In the future, we may be able to isolate each group and offer some analysis on
volunteer CEOs.
Affiliate Pay – Some charities pay their leaders through multiple affiliated organizations. In
these cases, we do publish the affiliate pay on the charity’s ratings page. However, we’ve
excluded those records from this study, since we currently can not confirm how much of the
affiliate pay is compensation for the CEO position as opposed to a separate job.
Older Data – This study excludes the few charities in our database whose most recent fi-
nancial data is from their fiscal year ending 2011 or earlier.
Prior or Interim CEO – If the organization reported a prior or an interim CEO on the cur-
rent Form 990, then there is a good chance that the current CEO served a partial term with
partial pay. Including such records would skew the data towards lower pay and would be
less accurate. So we have excluded these records.
New CEO with Lower Salary – Similarly, if the current CEO is different than the prior
CEO and has a salary at least 20% lower, we assume that there’s a good chance that the cur-
rent CEO served a partial term and thus didn’t receive a full year’s pay. Again, we exclude
these records so as not to skew the data to lower pay.
As a result of these exclusions, we restricted our analysis to 3,946 charities overall. And when
we examined changes in compensation from 2011 to 2012, the exclusions reduced the sample
size to 2,582.
The various regions in our study are defined as follows:
Mid-Atlantic: New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Dela-
ware
Midwest: Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Ne-
braska, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota
Mountain West: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada
Northeast: Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Vermont
Pacific West: Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii, Alaska
South: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama,
Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico
Southwest: Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona
See Charity Navigator’s President & CEO’s blog, Ken’s Commentary, for more on the topic of
CEO Compensation.
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